Hi. Didn't want to hijack the other thread going at the moment, but it has prompted me to ask a question which has been bothering me for a while.
I was working full time throughout the first three months of my pg until I was signed off with ante natal anxiety/depression. I duly sent in my certificate to my employer. I was then signed off for a further week with the same complaint, so agian sent the certificate in. Following this week, I was given a further 10 days off. I was unable to return to the doctor so went back to work for 1 day but the anxiety was so bad, I had a panic attack and had to be taken back to the out of hours doctor. I suffered terribly with them.
In all this time, I did not hear from my employer, despite sending her the certificates. I was unable to travel into work to give them to her, and it was largely the place that was making me feel so miserable, so was advised by the dr to send them, rather than going directly there and facing it.
I heard from a supervisor that I had been sacked, but later heard from another supervisor that I had not been sacked, but my employer hadn't heard from me and therefore was assuming that I had left.
In the meantime, we ran out of money and I mean we were really suffering. I thought that I would recive SSP for the time off I had had, but my boss was saying that I couldn't have it because according to her, I didn't send in my certificates and she had no way of proving I was signed off and therefore entitled to it.
I have been without money since November and obviously the bills are mounting up. This has contributed to my anxiety and depression and in the end, didn't feel able to contact her, which I know was wrong, but this pg has been so up and down anyway, I just didn't want to be made to feel any worse than I already was.
Previously to this, I asked if I could reduce my hours to 4 days instead of 5 and was told it would be looked into. I am doing a vocational degree which means I have to work at least 16 hours a week. However, since November, I have not worked at all.
My friend who is also a supervisor spoke to my boss and asked if she would consider having me back to work (bearing in mind I haven't been sacked) and she said no, because as far as she was concerned, I just failed to turn up for work. She did say she would consider it if I could get a letter from the dr giving exact times and reasons as to why I was signed off. She also wants duplicate certificates for the entire time, and having spoken to my dr to ask about this, have been told that this is not happening. It is not something they do. I appealed to him with a letter and literally begged him to do it, but he is standing firm.
I decided to look for alternative work, but at 21 weeks pg, nobody is interested. I applied for a job which would have suited me well. The owner of the nursery phoned me on Saturday night to ask if I was interested, having left my details and when I called her yesterday, she told me that she meant to tell me the job was for someone unqualified. I know, because she categorically stated that the job was for a part time qualified deputy manager, so can only put it down to the fact that I am pg.
To date, I have not heard directly from my boss nor have I received a p45 from her, so I don't really know where I stand.
If you got this far and have any idea what it is I've been rambling on about, then thanks and any advice would be greatly appreciated.